First off, congrats to Jim Harbaugh for landing the San Francisco 49ers gig. I have fond memories of his miracle playoff run in 1995, and I guess since then I've always liked to see him succeed. He strikes me as a classy guy, and from what I've read, he's a heck of a coach. I mean, to bring Stanford to the heights that he did this past season is very impressive.
That said, I don't think he's going to do very well in the NFL. It's a rough transition for most college coaches to the NFL- and I honestly don't see it going much differently in this case. The 49ers have some talent- but they have serious QB questions in a league that demands good QB play. Plus, how quickly will 49er fans turn on him if they get off to a slow start next year and Stanford starts off well (of course, we're assuming that there will be a next season).
But that's not really what I wanted to address. The fact is, I apparently have developed the gift of prophecy- and if you don't believe me, check this out. And no- it doesn't really matter that everyone else was saying the same thing- because I was bold enough to say it (and no, you cannot leave and go do a Google search...you just have to take my word for it, I'm a bona fide clairvoyant).
Unfortunately, at this point, the whole search-for-a-coach situation is really feeling like a Chinese fire drill. I like the fact that U- M AD Dave Brandon took his time- but unfortunately it seems like the cons might end up outweighing the pros. Rich Rod got a month+ to prepare for a bowl game with no vote of confidence for his job, high school recruits got to listen to other coaches play up the lack of stability at Michigan, and any desire that Jim Harbaugh had for the Michigan job left the building.
So now what? Michigan is really starting to look like that dude at the bar that wants to take a girl home and get lucky, only it's close to closing time and the pickings are slim. You could have asked that hot chick (Harbaugh in this case) way earlier in the night, but you wanted to wait it out a little bit with the girl you came with (Rich Rod), but you had too much to drink and kicked her to the curb. So you are basically looking at taking the ugly girl home tonight buddy.
Seriously, I feel like they're grasping at straws and just throwing out names. If there was any inkling back in December that they were going to fire Rodriguez- they probably should have done it, because right now I feel like the odds are increasing that they will be forced to make a seriously panic-driven decision as they continue to get turned down by all the coaching prospects. Bo Pelini? Said no. Pat Fitzgerald? Thanks but no thanks. Jon Gruden? Wait...Jon Gruden? That would be like failing to find a suitable one-night stand mate and just going back to your pad and playing X-box with your roomies.
Of course, Michigan does have a plan- Les Miles. I know, I know- it's not much of a plan. I suppose it's a good sign that he has agreed to meet with Michigan. Maybe he just likes to reject people face to face, I don't know. Maybe it coincides with his need to hunker down for the winter.
But if I was Miles- why would I leave a lucrative coaching gig in the SEC (where I get paid $2.8 million, BTWs) with a team that was 12-2 in the best conference in the land for a team that has 2 losing records in the last 3 years, the worst defense ever, and a team built for a completely different play style? I suppose there is the whole "Michigan-man" thing- but that wasn't enough to entice Harbaugh, and it wasn't enough to sway Miles last time around.
As a seer of the future, I'm not trying to use my new found powers to spread doom and gloom- but I also don't like the direction that this is all headed. At this pace, the Wolverines are in line to get rejected by Kevin O'Shea, Ed Gennero, and Coach Klein. Eric Taylor, though, is practically begging for the job- and by 'begging for the job', I mean he is yelling at his players and looking very confused.
At least we're not the Dolphins- how about that whole soap opera? Searching for a coach while you already have a coach- that sounds like something that even Ohio State wouldn't do.
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